Unexpected Love
by Changfriedrice
Summary: Many desire Tobias Fate's life. The streamer is already renowned and his popularity is ever-growing - what most consider a dream come true. But no one knows the internal struggle he grapples with on a daily basis. Tobias Fate walks a solitary road, until, one day, he trusts someone with his heart. And that person is Annie Bot. TobiasxJared/Slow burn/AU


Hi.

Most of you are probably coming from my reddit post in the LoL subreddit, but I will repeat myself here for those that did not.

After hearing a steady stream of jokes regarding Tobias Fate and Annie Bot being lovers, I have taken the liberty to begin writing a third-person fanfic shipping the two of them.

I'm an avid league of legends player, but I don't watch annie (get it) of either streamer's videos aside from YouTube highlights so information that is in the fanfic can very well be as far removed from the truth as possible. Therefore, it is safe to say I will be labeling this fanfic as AU (Alternate Universe for the non-fanfiction peeps).

If you like this, and you like Star Wars, please check out my other story called 'One Path Only' (yes I'm a sell-out). The plot consists of Rey turning to the Dark Side, set after TFA (it is an idea I have entertained myself with before I finally decided to express it).

Lastly (disclaimer), in no way do I own Riot Games. All I am is a consumer. I do not have a secret insight on either Tobias Fate or Annie Bot's personal lives. Everything written is purely fictional and off the top of my head. If either of them asks for me to take this down, I will. However, until then, I will be trying my hardest to update weekly.

* * *

Chapter 1: Beginning

Tobias sat in his chair and sighed.

The steady second hand of the clock continued to tick incessantly. The loudness of the stupid thing always got on his nerves, but it had been a present from his father. He could hate it all he wanted, but the sentimental object would never hit the trash.

He glanced around, absorbing the fine details the room had to offer. The walls were painted a creamy iguana color. A dresser stood on all fours against one corner of his room. The other corner consisted of his bed, a queen-sized behemoth that took up at least thirty percent of the entire area. The third corner was where he was currently at ̶ it was occupied by his expensive, mahogany desk completely with a high-end desktop installed by the side.

Apart from the clock, the only other objects hanging from his wall were posters ̶ League of Legends posters. His favorite, a forty by twenty-four-inch framed print, was of Gangplank, his all-time favorite champion to play. He couldn't express in words just how much love he held for the pirate. But Gangplank was also the stem of his problems, and his chronic desire to sigh.

Part of his sighs belonged to in-game moments, where his team would feed, preventing him from climbing out of Diamond. Or when his teammates flamed for no reason other than the fact they were petulant imbeciles refusing to acknowledge their mistakes. But the larger reason behind his sighs ̶ and no one except him knew this ̶ was because he was miserable. He was lonely.

Sure, people envied him and admired him. He was one of the fastest-growing streamers on Twitch and whenever someone wanted to learn Gangplank, Tobias Fate was always the stream, no, the man, to go to. His unparalleled advice and mechanical gifts were worth paying for and seeing with one's own eyes. But this was a problem. Players seemed to think that all his life circulated around was League; as if he was solely created to help others improve and to provide entertainment for viewers. He was seen as a robot, as an emotionless creature. But that wasn't just because of his personality. It was also because of his profession.

Streaming League for a living had its perks, sure. The revenue and popularity generated was solid. He didn't have to dress business casual every day like some people did, and he was his own boss. He could set his own schedule and decide when to stream and for how long. He didn't have to rush to turn in an assignment or wake up at six in the morning. He could sleep in whenever he felt like it, and he was free to string a batch of curse words together without fear of repercussion. But the benefits were starting to be overshadowed by the cons.

On the day where League of Legends died, what would happen? He could switch out video games and transition to the next mainstream world, but he wanted a glimpse of reality. He wanted to live, to go out into the real world. He wanted to escape the world of gaming. But there was no way to do so. What was he going to put on his resume apart from being an admired Twitch streamer and YouTuber? There would be no one willing to hire him.

He had no social interaction beyond the virtual veil. Talking to his viewers and the occasional duo partner on League helped keep him sane, but it wasn't enough. The game itself provided an outlet, a gateway to another realm that he could escape to for forty or so minutes before he was jolted back into the real world for however long it took for the next game to start. But, there was no physical comfort, no tangible flesh he could touch, and no shoulder he could lean on and cry when he was upset. Humans, by default, were social creatures, and Tobias lived alone.

Some people loved the concept of never having to interact with human beings, but Tobias was not one of them. When he was young, being a social butterfly was his forte. And now…he couldn't even remember the last time he went out with someone he was remotely _close_ with and had drinks with them.

That was why streaming was taking a heavy toll on him.

Tobias Fate sighed again, and then powered up his desktop. The usual loading screen took place and then disappeared. He then clicked the League of Legends icon. His fingers clacked rapidly on the keyboard as he entered his credentials, and then he was in.

The next thing he did was finish his bowl of cereal. He drank 2% milk ̶ never whole, because it was too sweet for him. He was never too particular about what kind of cereal he ate, so today, it was plain old Rice Krispies.

In between scoops, he powered on some other necessities to begin his stream. His microphone was a quintessential object, and OBS was as well.

His empty bowl sat on a spare corner of his desk. He contemplated bringing it to the sink, but opted not to. He didn't want to be reminded of the fact he lived alone.

The mouse wheel clicked when he scrolled through his friend's list. He was friends with several retired professionals and popular streamers, but he didn't spend much time talking to them.

He scrolled further down. One name caught his eye.

 _Annie Bot_.

He was just about to make a lobby and send him an invite, but it was like Annie Bot on the other end had heard his silent pleas. An invite to a ranked match popped up in the bottom right corner of his screen and he reflexively clicked it before it even flashed for half a second.

There was a new message. From Annie Bot.

 _Get on_ , the message said.

Tobias understood the meaning. He minimized League and opened up a new internet tab and entered Discord. He joined the other user in the channel. There was a shuffle of noise and the slight breath of someone very familiar permeating his eardrums while he waited for his mic to assimilate.

"Hey, Jared. Can you hear me?" Tobias Fate's voice sounded rougher than usual, so he cleared his throat.

"Tobias!"

Jared, aka Annie Bot, was the only person Tobias Fate fully considered a true friend. They had both met in a game when the two of them both just started streaming, and over a couple of years, their friendship grew. They played together quite frequently, far more than Tobias did with anyone else.

Tobias Fate didn't realize how much he had missed playing with him until he saw the other person in the lobby. A smile worked its way onto his face. League of Legends certainly had a unique method of bringing people together.

"How ya doin', man?"

"Good, good." Other than sounding a little tired, Jared was his usual chirpy self. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Jet lag, you know?"

"Yeah, uh, you were, what, visiting your parents for a week, right?" The queue started.

"Yeah, it's been a year since I've seen them, so I thought it would be in my best interest to do so. Besides, my cooling system was malfunctioning, so I had to order a new part. It came in last night."

"Perfect timing, eh?" One minute.

"How'd you know?" Tobias could imagine Jared fervently nodding his head on the other side. "I couldn't sleep last night so I stayed up and fixed it. Had to use my phone to browse YouTube for a how-to video."

"You coulda just called me," Tobias responded. "I woulda walked you through it." Two minutes.

Jared laughed. "I don't ̶ wait, I don't have your number. At least, I think I don't...do I?"

Tobias searched through his phone and silently slapped his forehead, glad that Jared couldn'tsee the pantomime.

"You're right."

"Well, that's okay. I got it working in the end, so no biggie."

Tobias absentmindedly clicked through some profile information on the people in the same division as him. "Did you read the patch notes?" Three minutes.

"Yeah. 7.4. I bet you're glad they didn't nerf Gangplank."

"Boy, it goes the same way. I bet twenty bucks you breathed a sigh of relief when they didn't blow Annie into the dirt."

"Nerf Annie? She's not even broken!"

"And neither is GP."

"He is when you play him." Jared's voice adopted a playful attitude to it, and Tobias found himself raising his eyebrows. "You make the champion look overpowered. Plus, isn't lethality broken on him right now?"

Tobias bit his tongue, resisting the urge to correct him. "Lethality is busted on every champion right now. Fucking Riot needs to learn how to make a balanced game."

Jared laughed. Or rather, squealed. His laughs always had an idiosyncratic vibe to them. A weird feeling blossomed in Tobias's stomach that he brushed it off as rancid cereal. Five minutes.

"So, what have you been up to? Anything exciting in your life?"

Once again, Tobias had to forcefully bite down on his tongue. "No. Everything's still the same." He redirected the question towards League of Legends. "I'm still shitting on idiots and getting shit on by idiots. Finally fucking climbed out of Diamond IV a few days ago, though, so that's somethin' to be pleased about."

"That's good."

Tobias Fate had an overwhelming urge to just drop the façade and tell Jared everything. He had ignored these problems for too long, and now, they had grown and festered to the point where one single push was all that was needed.

The queue timer disappeared and the acceptance window appeared. Tobias clicked on his at the same time Jared did. He knew that because he heard the click through his microphone.

He always wondered whether he could have gone pro. He wanted to tell his Twitch chat this, but he was embarrassed that they would laugh at him and troll him. Sometimes he wished he never picked up the damn game. The first time he had, in Season 2, he instantly fell in love with Gangplank and hadn't voluntarily played any champions ever since. But if he decided to broaden his repertoire, would he have other champions under his belt that he could perform exceptionally well with? When one reached a high enough elo, it wasn't about the skill, but the teamwork and communication. There were plenty of high-ranked diamonds in the pro industry. He might have been able to be one of them.

The best thing about it all would have been his housing. He would have been able to live with four other fellow players, a coach, manager, and whoever else usually lived in a gaming house. There would be constantly uproarious chatter, only dimmed into extinction when it was bedtime.

 _You are alone_.

The thought kept echoing in his head, threatening to drive him insane. Sometimes he and his team would get stomped in-game so hard that he wanted to just quit and break his computer. Solo queue was often a bitch, and he had no one to vent his frustration to.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't realize Jared was screaming his name until his eardrums almost popped.

"Tobias!"

Tobias jumped. "What?! What you tryna break my ears for?"

"It's your ban!"

Tobias stared at the screen for a few seconds before he understood what Jared was talking about. He quickly hovered over Gangplank and locked him in.

"Fuck! I'm a fucking idiot." He had banned Gangplank. Not chosen, but banned.

There was a prolonged silence from both of them. The next time either of them spoke, it was Jared. And his voice had a reticent edge to it.

"A ̶ Are you okay?"

Once again, Tobias had to force himself not to reveal anything. He bit down on his tongue so hard that he tasted blood.

"Yeah. Fuck. I'll just play Karthus then."

"Alright," Jared giggled.

The two men locked in their respective champions and didn't exchange another word. Tobias could hear some strange noise emanating from the other end of Jared's mic. Was it an animal of his causing ruckus? Was it him doing something with his hands? Or was it someone who shared a house with him ̶ a friend, or girlfriend?

Tobias's stomach gave another churn.

"Shut up," he muttered, flicking the organ.

"Hmm?" Jared's response was delivered absentmindedly, almost lazily.

"We're in game," Tobias said.

There was a pause, and some clicking as they both shopped for their items.

"Are you sure you're okay? You sound…"

"What? What I sound like?" Tobias meant to play the question off in jester-like manner, but it felt like he was trying to aggravate Jared into a confrontation instead.

"You sound…deadpan," Jared concluded. "Maybe I just haven't heard your voice for so long that I'm going crazy."

"Maybe all the lives you take on your flash R, E, Q, W, or whatever the fuck that combo is the reason behind why you're crazy. Not me," Tobias snorted.

"It's R, E, W, Q, thank you very much. Oh look, bot lane's being invaded."

Tobias centered his screen on the support. Thresh was being chased down by the full five-man squadron from the enemy team. He rounded a corner and dropped a ward in the bush next to krugs, but failed to flash the Blitzcrank hook.

"Fucking retard," Tobias sighed as Thresh went down. "Ezreal got first blood. This game's over. Done."

Jared giggled again. "Don't worry. I win my match-up."

"Yeah, well our fucking Jhin ain't even here! What the fuck is he doin', sitting in base like that?"

"Relaxxxxx," Jared slurred. "We got this. Just believe!"

"As long as our jungler isn't braindead, he should know to camp bot lane. Cheese the shit outta 'em, since Blitz ain't got exhaust."

The early and mid-game were spent in intense combat. Or rather, intense combat for everyone except Tobias's lane. All he ever did as Gangplank was farm, and this equivocal trait carried on into his Karthus playstyle. But it wasn't like there was anything else to do. He went for lane kills when he could, but playing against a Darius who aped out and rushed a null-magic mantle starting item was like repeatedly smashing your head into a brick wall. The fucker wouldn't die.

"How's farming simulator?" he heard Jared say almost ten minutes into the game.

"It's going ̶ fuck!" Tobias exclaimed, right as the gray screen appeared. He spammed both Darius's and Lee's flash icon six times into the chat. "Darius lived with one HP. Where the fuck is my jungler? Wait," he continued. Their bot lane had just gotten a double kill. "Never mind. He's doin' what I asked him to do. That's worth. How ya doin' down there, Jared?"

"Wait, do you have ult?"

"Yeah, I got it up in a few seconds," Tobias replied while buying his Blasting Wand.

"Press R! Press R!"

Tobias did what Jared asked and within a few seconds, got a kill on their mid laner. He pursed his lips and made his signature slurping sounds. At the same time, Jared cheered.

"I got an assist for that."

The two of them played well into the day. They had started late compared to their usual times, so when they finished, it was only after a brutal session of nonstop grinding. Tobias climbed half a division into his Diamond II promos. Jared was already Master-tier, so all he gained was LP. The next promotion into Challenger was for a four-hundred-point Master-player, so Jared still had some catching up to do.

Tobias could feel the cloud covering his rational thought process and decision-making. It put a damper on his reaction time and proprioceptors. Unless he wanted to drop elo, that meant it was time to quit.

"I should get going, Jared," he said to the other man sitting hundreds of miles away.

"Yeah. It's late and I think I'll finally be able to go to sleep tonight. Fun games, though."

"Yeah," Tobias absentmindedly agreed. He noticed Jared closed the League client and he followed suit.

"Will you be on tomorrow?" Jared asked. His tone of inflection raised a bit at the end of his question.

"Will you?" Tobias countered.

"Maybe."

"Tell ya what," Tobias said. His head was beginning to hurt. "I'll get on if you get on."

Just like that, Jared's soft voice changed into a cheery one.

"Yeah! Sounds good."

"See ya, Jared."

"Bye, Tobias."

Tobias was just about to exit out of Discord, but he hesitated. His mouse's cursor was already hovering over the X button on his tab. All he needed to do was click it once and then return to his solitary life.

He closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for it. Just as he was ready, he noticed something else that made him take his hand of his mouse. Jared was still sitting in the lobby, right above his name.

This was unusual, because Jared was always the first to leave. Tobias thought that maybe he forgot to do so, or left his station to go make food or something. But then he heard a noise, a small sniff accompanied by a few clicks of Jared's mouse. For a split second, he had a monumental urge to whisper into the mic and grab Jared's attention.

He stared at Jared's icon, seemingly hypnotized by its color. But then, it went away.

Tobias leaned back and blinked a few times, coming to an understanding that Jared left. He couldn't help but notice the overwhelming feeling of letdown manifesting inside his body and adding weight to his shoulders. He didn't know why he didn't say anything. And that was the worst feeling.

He closed Discord. His computer followed shortly afterward.

There were no windows in Tobias's room, so all he had to rely on was his father's clock. When he looked at it, he realized nine hours had gone by without his knowledge. He was dehydrated and hungry, and his bladder was yelling at him, telling him to go to the bathroom and relieve himself already.

He finished his business, but was hardly aware of what was going on. He regularly had these moments where it felt like he was living in a black and white film, where he was processing information seconds after his sensed them. He felt sluggish. Lethargic.

Tobias walked into the kitchen. The black refrigerator, standing sentinel in one corner, creaked when Tobias opened the door. He glanced on the shelves. There were some week-old vegetables and a few potatoes, a bottle of milk and some eggs, as well as some bottled water. But other than that, there was nothing else. He closed that door opened the freezer door. There was a bunch of microwavable meals tucked alongside some frozen pizzas. He paved a path with his hands like Moses did to the Red Sea until he found the taste he was looking for. He set it on high in the microwave and leaned against the sink, listening to the sounds of the machine as it rotated his food.

After his food finished heating up, he brought it over to his room and onto his bed. He sat on the edge of his bed with his box of food resting on his thighs. Ignoring the messaging icon, he got on the Internet on his phone and surfed the web. Nothing too interesting.

He finished the meal and threw the box into the trash can in his bathroom. He debated taking a shower, but he was too exhausted. Exhausted from sitting in one chair for nine hours and playing video games. Playing his life away.

So instead, he turned on the air conditioning and crawled under his covers to keep warm. His mind was empty, void of all thought. Except one.

There was a strange feeling that welled up inside of him. It was alien; it was a sensation he had long ago forgotten. But he was lulled into the abyss before he could pinpoint what it was.

Tobis Fate cried while he slept.


End file.
